Hey everybody.  This is going to be a pretty short fanpost, as I don't really have a ton to say.  I would've simply made a comment in the recent fanshot about the possibility of starting Samardzija, but it's been buried, so here goes.

Anyways, in the aforementioned fanshot, a few people made the claim that Samardzija shouldn't be a starter because he has only two pitches.  While this may come as a surprise to some, that statement is simply not true.  According to Fangraphs, Samardzija has thrown 4 different pitches with regularity this year: a fastball (58.5% of the time), a slider (24.3% of the time), a splitter (10.6% of the time), and a cutter (6.7% of the time).  Furthermore, each of those pitches has rated as above-average this year, according to Fangraphs' metrics.  In fact, Shark's 3rd and 4th pitches (in terms of frequency), have actually been his 2 most effective pitches.  His fastball has been, by a significant margin, his least effective pitch this year.

So yeah, Samardzija has more than 2 pitches.  That doesn't necessarily mean he'll make a good starter, but I don't see any reason not to give him a shot.  Assuming we trade Zambrano, we only have two proven starters under control next year in Garza and Wells (Dempster may opt out).  I would like to see the Cubs add 2 starters through free agency/trade (only 1 if Dempster stays) and let Cashner and Samardzija battle it out for the last spot.